Dr. Oz Splits from Trump on Tylenol After Autism Tirade
The celebrity doctor joins GOP allies scrambling to clarify Trump’s wild remarks.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Dr. Mehmet Oz is backpedaling on Donald Trump’s explosive declaration that pregnant women should never use Tylenol.
The president brazenly claimed Monday that acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—was responsible for an increase in autism among young children, and instructed pregnant women to “tough it out” and avoid the painkilling drug altogether.
But Oz, who stood behind the president while he made such stunning claims, offered a more cautious stance when asked directly.
In a Tuesday interview with TMZ, the Trump-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said pregnant women with high fevers should take Tylenol to lower their body temperature.

Oz said it “might be true” taking acetaminophen for low-grade fevers during pregnancy is safe. “We don’t know,” he said.
TMZ/TMZ
“If you have a high fever….the doctor’s almost certainly going to prescribe you something, Tylenol might be one of the things they give,” the celebrity doctor assured TMZ Live hosts Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere, adding: “That’s not the problem.”
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He told the hosts that it “might be true” taking acetaminophen for low-grade fevers during pregnancy is safe. “We don’t know,” he said.
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“Take it when it’s appropriate,” he said. “Acetaminophen’s probably your best option, but take it when you really need it.”
Meanwhile, Trump insisted on Monday: “With Tylenol, don’t take it. Don’t take it.” He also went wildly off-script and made several spurious claims about Cubans and the Amish.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Donald Trump makes an announcement linking autism to childhood vaccines and to the use of Tylenol for pregnant women and children, claims which are not backed by decades of science.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Oz isn’t the only Republican scrambling to walk back some of Trump’s dangerous claims.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, whose support was pivotal to Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services, has also contradicted the president—urging him and Kennedy to show their work.
Writing on X, the licensed physician said: “I understand and applaud President Trump’s desire to address this issue and to support HHS. HHS should release the new data that it has to support this claim. The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case.”
I understand and applaud President Trump’s desire to address this issue and to support HHS. HHS should release the new data that it has to support this claim. The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case. The concern is that women will be left with no options to…
— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) September 22, 2025
Cassidy added, “The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem.”
Acetaminophen has been the most commonly recommended pain reliever for pregnant women for decades.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said that the drug, used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain, is one of the only safe pain relievers for pregnant women.
Trump’s bombshell claims were immediately debunked on Monday by nearly every major government and health organization.
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